Removable stand alone vibration monitor with automatically configured alarm thresholds

ABSTRACT

A user provides relevant information about the operating parameters of a machine to be monitored to a diagnostic instrument. The user also specifies a location of the machine to be monitored, an alarm level to be set, and the type of alert to be sent. The instrument then automatically generates appropriate an alarm threshold using a set of rules applied to the inputs. The instrument then transmits the alarm threshold to a removable stand-alone monitor. The stand-alone monitor acquires data about the machine, compares the date to the alarm threshold, and sends a user-specified alert when the alarm threshold has been reached. Using the diagnostic instrument and monitor, machines can be monitored for vibration, temperature, or a power parameter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/953,275, filed Nov. 23, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,803,698, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a stand-alone removable monitor withan alarm system.

BACKGROUND

Vibrations occur in all types of rotating equipment, such as electricmotors, fans, turbines, other machinery, or combinations thereof. Thevibrations may be characteristic of regular operation of the equipment.However, machine conditions, such as unbalance, misalignment, bearingwear, looseness, and eccentric shafts, can cause vibrations that lead toor otherwise are indicative of impending equipment failure. Vibrationscan be measured by using a sensor such as an accelerometer to measurevibration waveforms. In conjunction with accelerometers, vibrationanalyzers can be used to obtain frequency and amplitude informationabout the vibrations that are present. This information can be used todiagnose machinery faults prior to failure.

Typically, it is desirable for users to be alerted when problems withrotating machinery require attention to fix the problem, prior tofailure of the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of a stand-alone, removable vibration monitor with alarm systemare illustrated in the figures. The examples and figures areillustrative rather than limiting.

FIG. 1 shows a suitable set-up in which a stand-alone, removablevibration monitor with alarm system can be used;

FIG. 2 shows a suitable block diagram of a stand-alone, removablevibration monitor with alarm system;

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process ofpreparing the stand-alone removable vibration monitor for monitoring amachine; and

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process ofmonitoring vibration data and sending an alarm when an alarm thresholdhas been reached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects and examples of the invention will now be described. Thefollowing description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding and enabling description of these examples. One skilled inthe art will understand, however, that the invention may be practicedwithout many of these details. Additionally, some well-known structuresor functions may not be shown or described in detail, so as to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended tobe interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it isbeing used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific examples of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasizedbelow; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in anyrestricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such inthis Detailed Description section.

Two techniques are generally known for monitoring machinery to determinewhen a problem arises. One is to install a permanent hard-wiredvibration monitoring system, which can be quite expensive.Alternatively, machinery can be measured on a regular basis with aportable system to detect when a problem arises, but this may requiretime and personnel to repeatedly monitor the machinery to check forvibration problems.

Advantageously, a removable stand-alone monitor can be continuouslymonitored until a problem arises and an alarm threshold is reached.After the problem has been resolved, the removable stand-alone monitorcan be re-deployed to monitor a different machine or even a differentlocation on the same machine.

Vibration monitoring of machinery hinges upon the interpretation of theacquired vibration data and determination of a threshold beyond whichthe machine is considered to have developed a problem. Presentmonitoring methods for determining alarm thresholds, however, areinadequate.

One technique for interpreting acquired vibration data involves settinga simple threshold that is used with any machine to be analyzed.However, because there are differences in the normal operating state fordifferent types of machines, this technique results in a large number offalse negatives and false positives. Another technique for determiningthe alarm threshold involves collecting baseline data for a particularmachine and then dynamically determining an alarm threshold based on thecollected data. But there are two drawbacks to this method. First,baseline data of the machine must be taken while the machine is inproper working order. Second, a high level of technical expertise may berequired to evaluate the data to create a valid alarm threshold.

As a solution to the methods currently available, a vibration diagnosticinstrument can be used to create a “synthetic baseline” for a rotatingmachine. The synthetic baseline is generated based on an input of adescription of the machine parameters in conjunction with rules storedin the instrument's memory. Upon acquiring vibration data from themachine, the vibration diagnostic instrument can indicate where there isa problem, and the problem can be classified by the instrument accordingto the severity of the problem (e.g., extreme, severe, moderate, ormild). Thus, the synthetic baseline allows a robust set of alarmthresholds to be generated. The synthetic baseline is discussed ingreater detail in the following document and is incorporated byreference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/688,736, entitled “UserInterface System and Method for Diagnosing a Rotating Machine ConditionNot Based upon Prior Measurement History,” filed Jan. 15, 2010, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,478,548 on Jul. 2, 2013.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment to be described below, aremovable stand-alone vibration monitor includes an alarm system forsending an alert when an automatically determined alarm threshold hasbeen reached. The vibration diagnostic instrument can automaticallydetermine suitable alarm thresholds using information input to theinstrument about the machine to be monitored, such as the operationalparameters of the machine. Thus, a user of the monitor does not have todetermine and set the alarm thresholds. The stand-alone vibrationmonitor receives the alarm threshold from the vibration diagnosticinstrument and takes vibration data at a particular location of themachine specified by the user. If the alarm threshold is reached, asuitable alert is transmitted.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram 100 of a suitable set-up in which astand-alone, removable vibration monitor with alarm system 120 can beused to monitor a machine 130. The monitor 120 need not be a permanentlyinstalled hard-wired system. Rather, the monitor 120 can be used as atemporary monitor and can be readily moved to different locations. Themonitor 120 has a vibration sensor 125. The vibration sensor 125 can beset up by a user to sense vibrations at one or more points of themachine to be monitored 130.

The vibration diagnostic instrument 110 is configured to receive userinput as to the configuration and operational parameters of the machineto be monitored 130. In some embodiments, the instrument 110 includes auser interface to prompt a user for specific information about themachine. In this manner, the instrument can be readily operable by userswithout extensive training or experience in vibration data collectionand analysis. Upon receiving and processing the requested information byuser input, instrument 110 can determine one or more alarm thresholds.The alarm thresholds may correspond to different levels of severity of aproblem (e.g., whether the vibration data indicate that a problem isextreme, severe, moderate, or mild). A different alarm threshold can bespecified by the instrument 110 for different locations to be monitoredon the machine 130.

The alarm thresholds determined by the instrument 110 can be downloadedto the stand-alone, removable monitor 120 through a connection 140. Thetransmission of the alarm thresholds to the monitor 120 can be through adirect wired connection, for example, through an electrical or opticalcable. Alternatively, the transmission can take place through a wirelessconnection, for example, using radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR)signals.

FIG. 2 shows a suitable block diagram 200 of a stand-alone, removablevibration monitor with alarm system. The stand-alone, removablevibration monitor includes a communication module 230, a processor 210,vibration sensors 250, a memory 220, and a power supply 240.

When the stand-alone, removable monitor 120 is installed, vibrationsensors 250 can be configured to acquire data from the appropriatelocation or locations on the machine to be monitored 130. Non-limitingexamples of vibration sensors 250 that can be used includeaccelerometers, velocity sensors, and displacement sensors.

The communication module 230 can include a receiver to receive the alarmthresholds determined by the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 and atransmitter to send alerts when an alarm threshold has been reached. Themanner in which alerts are sent can be user-specified. Options for alertnotifications may include, but are not limited to, flashing lights inthe vicinity of the monitored machine, sending an email, a pager alert,or placing a call on a cell phone. In one embodiment, the communicationmodule 230 can be an RFID radio that uses a wireless network, forexample, to receive alarm thresholds from the instrument 110 and totransmit alerts to a cell phone or a pager.

The processor 210 processes the vibration data acquired by the vibrationsensors 250. The processor 210 can comprise processing elements and/orlogic circuitry configured to execute software code to compare the alarmthresholds to the vibration data to determine whether an alarm thresholdhas been reached.

The memory 220 can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, and anycombination of volatile and non-volatile memory. The memory 220 canstore the alarm thresholds and the acquired vibration data.

A power supply 240 can include, but is not limited to, an electricaloutlet or a battery.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process 300 ofpreparing the stand-alone removable vibration monitor for monitoring amachine.

At block 306, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 requestsinformation about the parameters of the machine, and at block 308, thevibration diagnostic instrument 110 receives the parameters. In oneembodiment, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 can prompt the userwith a user-friendly interface based upon information received at block304 to obtain the parameters of the machine.

At block 310, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 requestsinformation about the location on the machine to be monitored, and atblock 320, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 receives themonitoring location information from the user.

At block 330, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 requests the levelof alarm threshold to be set, for example, whether the alarm should beactivated when the level of severity of a problem at the location to bemonitored becomes a mild, moderate, severe, or extreme problem. Then atblock 340, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 receives the alarmlevel information from the user.

At block 350, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 requests the typeof alarm to be sent. Non-limiting examples of alarm types includeflashing lights in the vicinity of the monitored machine, or sending anemail, a pager alert, or a call to a telephone. Then at block 360, thevibration diagnostic instrument 110 receives the alarm type from theuser.

At block 370, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 creates robustalarm thresholds tailored to the specific machine to be monitoredwithout the need for machine history or an expert user.

At block 380, the vibration diagnostic instrument 110 transmits theinformation received from the user at blocks 320, 340, and 360 above andthe alarm thresholds determined at block 370 to the removablestand-alone monitor. The process ends at block 399.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example process 400 ofmonitoring vibration data by the removable stand-alone monitor andsending an alarm when the alarm threshold has been reached.

At block 405, the stand-alone monitor receives the alarm thresholds fromthe vibration diagnostic instrument 110. At block 410, the stand-alonemonitor acquires vibration data of the machine to be monitored using oneor more vibration sensors that have been placed by the user at thelocation of the machine to be monitored.

At decision block 420, the stand-alone monitor determines whether thealarm threshold has been reached. If the alarm threshold has not beenreached (block 420—No), the process returns to block 410 to continueacquiring data from the machine. If the alarm threshold has been reached(block 420—Yes), the process continues to block 430 where the systemsends an alarm. In one embodiment, the stand-alone monitor can transmitvibration data to a user through email or fax.

At block 440, the stand-alone monitor waits a preselected amount oftime. The duration of time that the stand-alone monitor waits can be setby the stand-alone monitor. Alternatively, the duration of time can bespecified by the user. Then at decision block 450, the stand-alonemonitor determines if a reset command has been received. If a resetcommand has not been received (block 450—No), the system returns toblock 430 to send another alarm. If a reset command has been received(block 450—Yes), the process ends at block 499.

A removable stand-alone monitor that automatically configures alarmthresholds can be adapted to other complex data measuring situations.For example, a removable stand-alone monitor can be used to monitorpower quality, such as whether the power generated at a power plant ortransmitted over a power line is distortion-free without unwanted spikesand harmonics. A computer or a complex power quality instrument can beused to configure certain performance parameters of a power system, forexample, three-phase delta, correction capacitor, and an alternatingcurrent (AC) motor, and identify where a monitor would be used tomeasure the performance of the power system. The computer or powerquality instrument would then generate alarm conditions for one or morepower system parameters including, but not limited to, phase balance,maximum harmonic content, and phase angle. These alarm conditions canthen be downloaded to a simple removable stand-alone monitor.

In another example, a removable stand-alone monitor can be used tomonitor thermal energy to determine appropriate operating temperatureranges of components. For example, a user can take a thermal image of anelectrical cabinet that contains wiring, terminals, switches, andcircuit breakers. Then the user can use a complex thermal imager or acomputer to identify critical components to be monitored by selectingthe part of the image showing the circuit breakers and identifying themas circuit breakers. The system would be pre-programmed with the properoperating temperature range for the circuit breakers and canautomatically set an alarm threshold for when the breakers reach thepoint of overheating. A user can just identify the location of thecomponents in the thermal image without needing to know the properoperating temperature limits for the circuit breaker. A system-generatedalarm profile can then be downloaded to a removable stand-alone monitor.Other electrical components can also be monitored, for example, acondenser coil. Once the condenser coil is identified by the user, thesystem would automatically search for problems associated with acondenser, such as sharp temperature discontinuities, and set the alarmalgorithms automatically for downloading to the removable stand-alonemonitor.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense (i.e., to say, in thesense of “including, but not limited to”), as opposed to an exclusive orexhaustive sense. As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” orany variant thereof means any connection or coupling, either direct orindirect, between two or more elements. Such a coupling or connectionbetween the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, refer to this application as awhole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where thecontext permits, words in the above Detailed Description using thesingular or plural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or moreitems, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any ofthe items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combinationof the items in the list.

The above Detailed Description of examples of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific examples for the invention are describedabove for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize. While processes or blocks are presented ina given order in this application, alternative implementations mayperform routines having steps performed in a different order, or employsystems having blocks in a different order. Some processes or blocks maybe deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified toprovide alternative or subcombinations. Also, while processes or blocksare at times shown as being performed in series, these processes orblocks may instead be performed or implemented in parallel, or may beperformed at different times. Further any specific numbers noted hereinare only examples. It is understood that alternative implementations mayemploy differing values or ranges.

The various illustrations and teachings provided herein can also beapplied to systems other than the system described above. The elementsand acts of the various examples described above can be combined toprovide further implementations of the invention.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts included insuch references to provide further implementations of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain examples of the invention, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theinvention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its specific implementation, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific examplesdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under theclaims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the applicant contemplates the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the applicantreserves the right to add additional claims after filing the applicationto pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A monitor for monitoring a machine, comprising: asensor; a memory configured to store an alarm threshold value, whereinthe alarm threshold value is automatically configured from a set ofrules applied to inputs characterizing machine operating parameters,machine location, and alarm parameters; a processor coupled to thememory and the sensor and configured to process data acquired by thesensor to determine if the alarm threshold value has been reached; and acommunication module coupled to the processor and configured to receivethe alarm threshold value from an instrument external to the monitor andto send an alert signal when the alarm threshold value has been reached.2. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the sensor senses at least one ofvibration, temperature, or a power parameter.
 3. The monitor of claim 1,wherein the sensor senses at least one of phase balance, maximumharmonic content, or phase angle.
 4. The monitor of claim 1, wherein thealarm parameters include a level of alarm threshold to be set and a typeof alert signal to be sent.
 5. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the alertsignal includes at least one of flashing lights, placing a call to aphone, or sending a message over a wired or wireless network.
 6. Themonitor of claim 1, wherein the alarm threshold value is receivedwirelessly from the external instrument.
 7. The monitor of claim 1,wherein the alarm threshold value is received through a wired connectionfrom the external instrument.
 8. The monitor of claim 1, wherein theexternal instrument determines the alarm threshold value withoututilizing a baseline history of the machine.
 9. The monitor of claim 1,wherein the memory stores the data acquired by the sensor, and thecommunication module sends the data with the alert signal when the alarmthreshold value has been reached.
 10. The monitor of claim 1, whereinthe inputs include a location of a component to be monitored selectedfrom a thermal image.
 11. A system comprising: a diagnostic instrumentincluding a user interface configured to request and receive inputscharacterizing operating parameters and alarm parameters of a machine,wherein the diagnostic instrument is configured to automaticallydetermine an alarm threshold value from a set of rules applied to theinputs, and wherein the diagnostic instrument is configured to downloadthe alarm threshold value to a monitor external to the diagnosticinstrument; and a monitor external to the diagnostic instrument andconfigured to receive the alarm threshold value for use by the monitorin determining whether the alarm threshold value has been met, whereinthe monitor includes a sensor couplable to the machine at a firstlocation, and wherein the monitor and the sensor are configured to bere-deployed to a location different from the first location.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the monitor further includes: a memoryconfigured to store the alarm threshold value; a processor coupled tothe memory and the sensor and configured to process data acquired by thesensor to determine if the alarm threshold value has been reached; and acommunication module coupled to the processor and configured to receivethe alarm threshold value from the diagnostic instrument and to send analert signal when the alarm threshold value has been reached.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the diagnostic instrument further comprisesa transmitter for wirelessly downloading the alarm threshold value tothe monitor.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the transmittertransmits RF or IR signals.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein thediagnostic instrument further comprises a wired connection fordownloading the alarm threshold value to the monitor.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the wired connection is an optical cable.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the diagnostic instrument is configured todetermine the alarm threshold value without utilizing a baseline historyof the machine.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the diagnosticinstrument is configured to determine an alarm threshold value relatedto at least one of vibration, temperature, or power quality.
 19. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the inputs include a location of a componentto be monitored selected from a thermal image.